Parallels
by Metal K
Summary: Sonic wakes up in bed with Amy after their honeymoon but he doesn't remember a thing! Rated T just in case. Plz R
1. Chapter 1

I don't own any Sonic the Hedgehog characters, but I might add in a few of my own.

"Dear Tails,

I have returned from the annual Sandy Beach Race and received first prize (obviously). I am currently on my way to see Knuckles on Angel Island. He says he's felt some sort of disturbance in the wind, and wonders if I could talk with him. Other than that, everything has been very calm. No sign of Eggman, so quite frankly, I'm bored."

Sonic put down his pen and rubbed his eyes wearily. It had been three hours since he had set up camp in the forest, and he was growing tired.

He picked up his trophy and examined it for the umpteenth time. He ran his hand over the golden cup, and his finger came to rest on the insignia on the front. It read:

Sonic The Hedgehog

1st Place

The simple words gave Sonic a feeling of satisfaction. Though he had won the same race many times before, the cup was like an old friend he didn't want to lose.

He put the cup down and locked it in its case. He rolled over in his sleeping bag, and waved away some fireflies that had settled by his head. He lay there, the sounds of the forest soothing him. He looked at the forest around him, and smiled. As he closed his eyes, he knew that he had returned home.

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Sonic grunted and rolled over into the mattress. He still felt sleepy, and had had a dream about…

Wait a minute – what mattress?

Sonic sat up, wide-eyed and awake. Looking around, he saw he was in a double bed, inside a fancy hotel bedroom, and sitting next to him, under the covers was Amy Rose.

"Don't worry Sonic, it's only me." Amy leant over and kissed him, full on the lips. The shock left Sonic frozen for a few seconds. In all the time he had known Amy, all the times she had chased after him, she had never actually kissed him. It felt… it felt… he hated to admit it, but it felt… good.

"Wha…what am I doing here?" he stuttered, still partially in shock.

"Silly. It's our honeymoon, remember?" She leant over and began kissing his neck. "And let me say, you were _good_ last night."

It took a few seconds for the severity of the sentence to reach Sonic's brain, but then all his senses were on Red Alert. _Honeymoon? _But that would mean…

"We're married?"

"Yeah," Amy laid her head on Sonic's lap. "I still can't believe it. After three years, too."

Three years? Sonic's head was swimming so fast he felt like a goldfish. He stared at a certain point in the room for a few minutes without realising what he was looking at. When his eyes finally focused, he recognized the case of his trophy. He got up out of bed, and crouched over it, examining it intently. It seemed the only source of safety right now.

"Sonic, what's wrong?" Amy asked, caution in her voice.

"I remember this. I won 1st place."

"No you didn't, you came eighth, remember? Are you feeling alright?"

Sonic stared at the trophy case. No, It couldn't have been. He remembered winning.

He slowly opened the case. Inside was a trophy all right, but it was a small, sullen brown colour, and was rusting in places. Inscribed on the front was:

Sonic the Hedgehog

8th place

Sonic held up the cup in disbelief. He clenched it so tight that he thought the handles would snap.

"What is going on?" He whispered."


	2. Chapter 2

No ownership over STH.

"Amy, I'm fine."

"You're not." Amy insisted as she pulled Sonic along the street. "There's something wrong with you, and Miles will be able to sort it out."

Sonic sighed and looked around him instead. Amy was dragging him through a small town, shops and houses everywhere, people scurrying about doing whatever is was that they were doing. Sonic was so confused; how could he have been transported from a quiet forest to a town in one night? The forest was miles away from any civilized spot.

Amy herself looked different. She didn't have the girlish innocence about her; she was more like a woman. She seemed to have a taste for blue tops and jeans. Her figure was good, too. From where Sonic was looking…

Sonic stopped himself from going any further. He remembered who he was thinking about here; Amy Rose. But was she? She seemed almost a different person. They were married, they lived in a town; Sonic wondered, could this e the future?

Finally, they came to a stop outside a small building, the white paint peeling away slightly. The sign on the door read, "Dr. Miles Prowler Surgery".

Amy knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an answer, dragging Sonic inside. A small surgery awaited them, creamy wallpaper filling the walls, with not a window in sight. A wooden table stood in the centre of the room, and on the shelves were assorted medical equipment and books.

"Miles, are you here?" Amy called out.

"I'm in the back!" A voice called out. Amy went over to a door on the other side of the room and cautiously peered in. She suddenly shut it as a glow of sparks came from inside. Sonic immediately went over to her.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, he just gave me a shock. I'd really like to know what he has in there."

The door opened, and Tails walked in, dressed in a white lab coat and a facemask. His coat had grimy stains on it, and his hands were oily.

"Ah, Amy." He smiled. "Good to see you again. I'm sorry I couldn't come to the wedding, I had an urgent call from a patient in Northville."

"That's quite alright, Miles."

"Now," Tails went over to the sink and washed the oil his hands. "What can I do for you two?"

"It's Sonic." Amy replied. "Something's wrong with him. He woke up this morning and can't remember anything."

"I can remember fine." Sonic burst out. "But this? We're married, Tails is a doctor…"

A stricken look came across Tails' face. "I've asked you not to call me that anymore."

"What?" Sonic was utterly perplexed. Tails sighed and turned away. He took off his coat and hung it on the hook near the door. Sonic was shocked. Where once he had had two bushy tails, there was only one stump, and a bloody scar where the other had been.

"Oh my…" Sonic put a hand to his forehead. "I need to get out of here."

Sonic turned and ran out the door, oblivious to Amy's cries. He ran out and kept running. What was going on? What had happened to his friends? Sonic ran faster. He didn't care where he went, so long as it was away from here.

A red blur suddenly jumped out at him from behind a building. Sonic found himself pinned to the floor and staring up into the familiar face of Knuckles.

"Keep still blue boy and you won't get hurt." He rasped. Sonic stared. Knuckles' face was covered in scars. His usual bright red fur had turned into a matted, dirty mess. Knuckles was livid, glancing this way and that, as if looking out for something. Suddenly, he jumped up, pulling Sonic with him and pressed a gun to his head.

"Don't move or the hedgehog gets it!" Two vultures in blue police uniform swooped down in front of them and landed.

"C'mon Knuckles, give us the gun." One of them said.

"No!" Knuckles yelled. "Not until you tell me where she is!"

"Knuckles," The other vulture said softly. "Just come with us and we'll help you find whoever you're looking for."

"No! You'll just lock me up again, like an animal! I have a right to be free!"

A siren suddenly rang out, and everyone ran, panicking into the nearest building. The vultures flew off again, and Knuckles finally let go of Sonic. He looked up to the sky and grinned.

"Yes. He's here."

A shadow passed over them. Sonic looked up and saw a huge ship hovering over the town. Knuckles disappeared in a shimmer of blue light.

"Sonic!"

Amy ran up to Sonic and took him by the arm, trying to drag him away. "It's a raid! You have to get inside!"

"No!" Sonic pulled himself away from Amy. "What's going on? It's all wrong!"

"Sonic, you need to come now!"

"No!" Sonic yelled over the noise of the ship. "Something's going on!" Sonic looked up to the ship. "Is it you?" He called out. "Are you doing this? Tell me what's going on!"

The world around Sonic seemed to shimmer suddenly. He saw Amy running towards him, almost in slow motion. The next thing he knew, the world around him had disappeared and he was standing on the top of a huge cliff, looking down into the valley below. He felt a rope around his waist, and turned to see a queue of people behind him.

"C'mon, hurry up! Jump! I've been waiting for an hour!" The man behind him said.

Sonic looked down at the valley below him.

"Oh boy." He said.


	3. Chapter 3

Glad to see one of my fans recognized that the first chapter plot was lifted up an episode of Star Trek. No one noticed the Quantum Leap reference at the end of chapter 2, though.

Sonic characters property of whoever dreamed up the idea of a supersonic talking hedgehog.

"C'mon, jump! I haven't got all day."

Sonic gulped and looked down into the valley. He could just imagine decaying skeletons of unfortunate jumpers lying at the bottom.

"Um… I don't feel like going today." He muttered to the official standing next to him.

"Oh, for goodness sake." The man behind him said, and promptly pushed Sonic over the edge.

His screams echoed in the ravine, and the G-forces made him feel like he had been turned inside out. He plunged down, a victim of gravity. Sonic had never felt speed like this, probably because of the direction he was travelling in, as opposed to his usual horizontal direction.

He reached the slack of the rope, and hung for a moment, suspend just metres above the ground. Just enough time to take in a breath ready for another yell, when he was elasticated back up again. This time, he had the distinct feeling that he had left something behind. Within seconds, it seemed, he had reached the top again. He bounced for a while on the slack of the bungee, and collected himself. At the moment the only thought he had was "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He hung there, his body limp, taking short, sharp breaths. After a while an African official came down in a lift and disconnected him, and carried him back to the top of the valley. Sonic stumbled out, barely able to walk, and leant on a large boulder. The official took him by the arms and said "You are now a man."

No I'm not, I just wet myself, Sonic thought. He stood up, still panting, and looked around, trying to get some idea of where he was. As far as he could see, he was at the top of a large canyon, with a small hut a few metres away, where people were signing up to jump. There was no one here he recognized, everyone seemed to be psyching themselves up for the jump. He began to make his way over to the hut to find out where he was, when he was knocked to the floor by a fist.

"Way to go, Sonic. I didn't think you had the guts to do it!"

"Don't hit him, Knuckles!" Sonic stood up, turned to see knuckles and Amy standing behind him, both with impressed looks on their faces.

"You actually jumped! I thought it was just a load of hot air." Knuckles commented.

"Yeah… well, it was nothing."

"You jumped off a cliff!" Amy cried. "It was hardly nothing."

"Well… yeah it was. Actually I don't feel so good."

"You're bound to feel a bit queasy after that." Knuckles said, knowledgably I'd better take you home. See you later, Amy."

Knuckles and Amy exchanged a kiss, and Knuckles took Sonic by the arm and led him away from the ravine.

"Wait a minute… You and Amy?" Sonic stuttered.

"What? What about us?" Knuckles stopped and turned to face him. "Sonic, you said you'd be okay with this. But if your not, we'll break it off. We said from the beginning that if you weren't okay with it…"

"No, I'm fine." Sonic's voice seemed shrill to him. "Completely fine." He went to walk on and walked headfirst into another boulder.

"Okay," Knuckles sighed. "Let's go home."

'Home' turned out to be a shabby hotel room about a mile form the canyon. Sonic walked in and sank into a moth-eaten armchair in the corner. The effects of the jump were still taking their toll on him. Knuckles went into the small kitchen to fix him up a hot drink, and Sonic looked around the shoddy quarters. There were various pictures of sunsets and beaches, hand-painted by what looked like Knuckles himself. The wallpaper was peeling and there were various bits of paper scattered over the floor, and a guitar in the corner. Sonic picked up one of the papers. Scribbled on it in his own handwriting were the beginnings of a song. A lot about trees and forests and shadows. Not bad, really. Sonic went over to the guitar and slipped the strap around him. His hands automatically went to the right chords and he absent-mindedly began to pluck the strings. Sonic had never played a guitar before in his life, but somehow he was playing a tune, his fingers changing to play each chords and plucking the right notes at the right times. He slipped the guitar off and studied it; it was brown and plastered with stickers of the logos of various bands. Knuckles came back with a steaming drink. He sighed when he saw Sonic studying the guitar.

"You've got to give up on it, Sonic. After what happened at the Battle of the Bands, no one's going to want to join your band. A stage dive was going a bit too far."

Sonic replaced the guitar and took the drink. What was going on? So far, he had seemed to have travelled to different places as different people. Still Sonic the Hedgehog, but… not. What happened? Some kind of trans-dimensional portal he had inadvertently gone though? He didn't even know what that meant.

"I… think I'll just go to bed. Thanks for the drink."

"Right, see you later."

Sonic went trough the door with a poster of a band apparently called "DNA: Don't Need Anyone". He put the drink on a table and sat on the bed.

Which was moving.

He sprang up and pulled the covers off, to reveal a huge snake wriggling beneath. Sonic gave a cry of surprise and stumbled back. Knuckles hurried it and picked up the snake.

"Oh, Reggie. I've told you to stay out of here." He whispered to her. Sonic sat on the floor, staring up at Knuckles. He handled the snake with such calm and ease.

"Knuckles… something's going on. I don't know what, but something's wrong."


	4. Chapter 4

I just want to make something clear; this isn't supposed to be Sonic 'Leaping' in the same way as Sam from Quantum Leap. You'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Still don't own any Sonic characters.

"Wow." Knuckles commented when Sonic had finished relating his story. "It's all rather confusing, really."

"I know." Sonic replied. "What I don't get is how this happened? How did it all start? The last thing I remember from my world is going to sleep in the forest. Did something happen then? Or before then?"

"I'm not sure." Knuckles said. "But I know one person who might be able to help us."

"Let me guess… Tails."

Knuckles smiled. "He must be a mecha-whiz where you come from, too."

"Right, now." In his lab, Tails pulled on a plastic glove and picked up a small torch from his desk. "Open your right eye, please?"

Sonic, lying on the examination table, obediently opened his eye as wide as he could. Tails shined the light in, and studied what he could see in the brain. He examined for a few minutes, Sonic fighting back the urge to blink, and finally lowered his torch. He went back to his desk and jotted a few things on a sheet of paper; comparing the results of the various tests he had put Sonic through.

"Hmmm." Tails turned back to Knuckles, Sonic and Amy, stroking his small goatee. "It appears to me, that your quantum molecular makeup is substantially different to that of those inhabiting this quantum universe."

They all just stared at him for a while. Finally, Knuckles said;

"And for those of us who don't speak fluent twit?"

Tails sighed, trying to think of a simpler way to explain his theory. "You know the theory of alternate universes?"

They nodded. Sonic had seen billions of sci-fi movies where people had gone and seen themselves in a parallel universe.

"Well, it seems that this Sonic is from a different quantum reality than our own. Sonic – or one of the Sonics in the many universes - has somehow triggered a displacement effect, thus switching places with the other quantum Sonics in the other realities. This Sonic has been travelling through other universes, according to his story, and unless we figure out a way to stop this displacement effect, the Sonics could go on switching indefinitely."

"Do you have any idea how we could stop him switching?" Amy asked.

"If I ran a few more tests, then I might have some idea of how to limit the process, but I'm not promising anything. All we can do now is hope that he doesn't switch before we find a solution."

"How long were you in the last universe?" Knuckles asked Sonic.

"I'm not sure." Sonic replied. "It was hard to keep track of time, what with the shock of waiting up with Amy. No offence." He hastily added.

"None taken." Amy said, coolly.

"Anyway, it couldn't have been more than a couple of hours." He continued.

"It's been two hours since the bungee jump." Knuckles said. "How much time do you think he has?"

"Well, you say you were asleep when you first switched?" Tails asked.

"I must have been. I don't remember anything out of the ordinary until I woke up."

"In that case we might have more time than we thought. I'm going to run a few more tests. If you'll just lie down again." Sonic lay down on the table again, and Tails turned back to Amy and Knuckles.

"I'm afraid I'm going to ask you two to leave. There's no way of telling how long the tests could take, and it's sure to be very delectate work."

"Sure." Knuckles nodded. He and Amy left, their arms around each other. Tails picked up another one of his tools and began prodding around Sonic's neck.

"Tell me," He asked. "Are you and Amy together where you come from?"

"Uh, no. No we're not. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I noticed the way you were looking at her. You seemed a little jealous of Knuckles."

Sonic stared at Tails. The kid he knew wouldn't have the first idea about romance, yet this Tails seemed to pick up on everything.

"Hey," Tails said, noticing Sonics puzzlement. "I may be young, but I can pick up when a guy like a girl. In fact," He lowered his thick glasses down to his nose. "I was the one who set her and Knuckles up. After you… well, the other you… and her broke up, I figured if you weren't with her, and… well, Knuckles had always liked her, so…"

Sonic raised an eyebrow. "I never really saw you as a matchmaker. I remember a time when…"

They got quite chatty after a while, swapping stories about friends from their respective universes, Tails conducting various tests and experiments. Sonic lost track of the time, and the stress he had been feeling from the switches eased away.

"I'm telling you!" Sonic laughed. "You really punched him!"

"No." Tails chuckled. "Me? Punch the bartender?"

"It was your first drink. And I mean ever. And he downright refused to give a refund."

Tails laughed again, whilst prodding some utensil into Sonic's ear. "Well then, I think that's all the results wee need." He jotted something onto his sheet of paper and inputted the results into the computer on his desk.

"Now, according to these calculations…" Tails' face suddenly fell when he saw the results on screen. He hurriedly turned back to Sonic.

"The estimated time until your next switch is within minutes." He said, becoming scientific again, urgent suddenly.. "Now, you need to remember everything I told you about quantum switching. Tell the Tails you meet in the next universe and tell him everything you remember. He should be able to pick up my work where I left off."

Sonic nodded. He looked at the countdown on the screen of the computer. One minute… 50 seconds… They waited in silence. Finally, the figures reached 10 seconds. Sonic suddenly remembered:

"Tell… Tell knuckles and Amy… I wish them good luck with their lives."

Tails smiled. "I'll tell them."

The world began to shimmer and fade. The image of Tails blurred and whished into a haze of whiteness. Sonic shut his eyes tight against the intense light. He was spinning, spinning…

He fell and landed on hard ground. Opening his eyes, he saw a dimly lit nightclub and a crowd of people in suits and fancy dresses, staring down at him. He felt a hand grab the back of his neck and pull him up. He found himself staring into the eyes of a rough old dog, anger in his eyes and holding him by his collar.

"Right then, you young ruffian. Where is my daughter? Tell me, where she is!"

Sonic looked around at the faces staring at them.

"Oh, boy."


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own STH characters, ST or QL ideas, for future reference. Killer Queen is a Queen song.

The old dog threw him against the wall. Sonic thumped into it like hitting… well, a brick wall. Sliding down to the floor, he thought to himself;

"Okay, what have I done now?"

The old man picked him up by the collar again and held him several feet above the ground.

"I'm not going to take any of your crap, young man. Now, if you don't tell me where my daughter is, I'm going to break more than your bones!"

"Now listen, if we could just talk this out…"

The old man hit him around the face. Hard. Sonic felt blood trickling down his cheek and staining the collar of his expensive-looking tuxedo.

"Tell me where she is!" The old man yelled, sending bits of spit into Sonic's face. At that point, a spotlight highlighted the centre of the darkened stage.

"Ladies ad gentlemen," An announcer called out. "Please put your hands together for the delightful Roxy Starr!"

The spotlight revealed a beautiful young fox, dressed in a fitting red silken dress, and sat upon a small wooden stool. She raised the microphone held in one paw towards her mouth, and began to sing.

"She keeps Moet and Chandon in her pretty cabinet  
'Let them eat cake' she says, just like Marie Antoinette  
A built in remedy for Khrushchev and Kennedy  
And anytime an invitation you can decline  
Caviar and cigarettes well versed in etiquette  
Extraordinarily nice"

She stood up from her stool and began to move towards the front of the stage.

"She's a Killer Queen gunpowder gelatine, dynamite with a laser beam

Guaranteed to blow your mind...  
Recommended at the price Insatiable an appetite

Wanna try?"

There were various cheers from the audience as the young fox struck a pose, but the old dog simply stared in amazement, still holding Sonic by the neck.

"To avoid complications, she never kept the same address  
In conversation, she spoke just like a baroness  
Met a man from China went down to Geisha Mina  
Then again incidentally if you're that way inclined  
Perfume came naturally from Paris  
For cars she couldn't care less, fastidious and precise"

The old man finally dropped Sonic to the floor and climbed up on stage.

"Pauline?" He asked in amazement. The music stopped and the audience stared. Pauline stared incredulously at the old man.

"Father?" She breathed. The old man took her by the shoulder and spoke to her face. "What in heaven's name do you think you are doing?" He hissed.

"Father, I was only…"

"No! I don't want to hear it. You and I are going to have a talk." He took her firmly by the arm and led her backstage, to various boos and hisses from the crowd. Almost as an afterthought, he turned and pointed accusingly at Sonic, who was still on the floor.

"I'll deal with you later!"

He turned on his heel and followed his daughter behind the curtains. General chatter broke out among the crowd again. Sonic pulled himself to his feet, and wiped the blood away from his cheek.

"Sonic! Are you okay?"

A curvy raccoon came up to him and held his arm. "Did he hurt you? No, of course he didn't. It would take more than a slap to hurt _you_."

"Yeah, right." Sonic said, dazed. Looking around him, he saw that he was in a nightclub, in a dark cobbled street, from what he could see through the windows. The raccoon was leading him away from the crowd and towards a small room in the back.

"You're not going to let him steal Roxy, are you? She's your star! You can't afford to lose her."

"Lose her?" Sonic asked, trying to make sense of what had happened.

"If her father takes her back, she won't be able to perform, and then she won't be able to make you money." She said, plainly. "Now, you'd better put something on that." She stroked his cheek, and walked away. Sonic looked around him. Aside from all the sleazy customers at the bar, there was no-one here he recognized. In the universes he had been in so far, he had met familiar people with unfamiliar personalities. How was he going to find Tails and find out when he was going to switch? And what was he supposed to do in the meantime? Sonic figured he had better keep track of how long he stayed here, so he looked in the corner at an old grandfather clock. It said half-past 11. Sonic sighed and felt around in his pockets. Pulling out some coins, he went to the bar and ordered a drink. Gulping it down, he began to make sense of what was happening. He was apparently some kind of manager for nightclub singers, and had hired this girl whose father had come looking for her. He figured he had better make himself scarce before they finished their 'talk' backstage. He was just about to turn and look for the exit, when a hand landed on his shoulder and pulled him back.

"Hey you," A slurred voice said. "I've got a bone to pick with you." Sonic turned, and was shocked by the sight he saw. Standing behind him, dressed in a denim jacket and short skirt, was Amy. But not Amy. This Amy had lost the prettiness that was once apparent in her face. She had a broken nose, scars all over her face, and her eyes were faded and dim. She was obviously drunk, and the stench drafted over to Sonic immediately. The usual bubblegum pink of her hair was matted and tatty, the colour faded.

"You're still not giving me a chance." She said. "Why not? Wha's wrong with me?"

"Uhh…" Sonic was slightly disturbed by her appearance. "Nothing. Nothing wrong with you whatsoever. Nope. Nothing."

"Then why won't you let me sing?" She slammed the glass she was clutching onto the bar, cracking it slightly. "If there's nothing wrong, why won't you give me a chance?"

Sonic stared in horror at this alternative Amy. Here was the sweet, innocent young girl he had known, drunken and ruined, asking him to let her take part in some sleazy nightclub performance.

"Look," He said, firmly. "You are too good for this. If you just went out in the world and…"

"But performing is my whole life!" She yelled and swung wildly at him. Sonic ducked and rolled out of the way as her momentum carried her forward into a glass case. The resulting crash drew the attention of everyone in the room. Sonic scrambled to his feet, trying to calm Amy down.

"Listen to me. I know you. You don't really want to do this."

"You don't know me!" She screamed. "Nobody understands! I _have_ to sing! I have to!" She drew back her arm for another swing, but a black paw grabbed her arm and held it back. Whirling furiously around, Amy found herself facing the young raccoon that Sonic had seen earlier.

"Let it go, Amy." She said. "Face it; you're just not good material. Why don't you just go and crawl back into whatever gutter you crawled out of."

Amy glared at her, setting her jaw. "Horny bitch." She said, and spat in her face. The raccoon struck out at Amy's face and drew blood with her sharp nails. Amy launched herself at the other female, and they ended up rolling around on the floor, scratching and hissing. The crowd had gathered around them, keeping their distance, some of the younger men cheering. Sonic turned and ran through the door into the dark street. He had to get away from this place. He ran down the street, and stopped outside a small diner, which was still open. Going in, he looked around. Still no familiar faces, just and empty diner and a man behind the counter wiping some glasses. He went up to him.

"Hey, is there a phone in this place?"

"Yeah, out back." The barman looked at him strangely, his eyes flickering from his bedraggled suit to the blood trickling down his cheek. Wiping it away, Sonic went to the back and found the payphone. Looking in the phone book underneath, he found the name he was looking for.

"Dr. Prowler, Miles. 142 West Way Street"

Sonic punched the number into the phone and waited impatiently as it rang.

"C'mon, c'mon, pick up." Sonic looked at his watch. It was almost midnight; he had been here nearly half an hour. How long before his next switch? There was no way of telling whether he jumped in time as well as reality.

Finally the phone was picked up.

"Hello?" Said a husky voice but Sonic recognized it as Tails'.

"Dr Miles Prowler?" He asked cautiously. What would this new Tails be like? He had already seen what had happened to Amy.

"Yes." The voice answered.

"It's Sonic here. You might know me, you might not, but either way I need to meet with you. It's urgent."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and Sonic wondered whether Tails had hung up. Finally, the silence was broken.

"I can meet you by the Clock Tower in Maypole Street. Be there in two hours."

He hang up, and Sonic listened for a moment to the sound of the dial tone. How was he supposed to know where Maypole Street was? Eventually, he ripped out the page containing Tails' address, and went out back to the diner.

"Hey… do you know where the Clock Tower is in Maypole Street?"

The barman looked at him strangely, as if he was surprised he needed to give that piece of information.

"Sure, you can see it from the fountain in the Town Square, about a mile north. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." Sonic hurried out and went in the direction the barman had pointed him. When he met this Tails, how could he be sure he was going to help him? How did he know he was even _able_ to? Was it definite that all of the Tails in the universes where all science whizzes? What if this Tails was a bank manager or something? There was only one way to find out, Sonic thought as he hurried along to the Town Square.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the 'whoa' from one of my reviewers. Still don't own STH.

Sonic waited impatiently by the clock tower. He paced up and down, checking his watch (is counterpart did have one). It was almost 2:15am. Tails was late. Sonic didn't know how much time he had. He could switch any second without learning anything. His battered suit and bloodied cheek was drawing quite a few strange looks from the late night wanderers. A thought struck Sonic; if he was switching with other Sonics, did that mean that other Sonics were switching with him? Were the Tails, Knuckles and Amy being subjected to the womanizing Sonic of this reality? What would happen if when he returned? _Would_ he ever return?

Sonic shook his head of this disturbing thought. There was no point in worrying himself. He would hook up with the Tails from this reality and they would sort this out. Or he would switch and try to find a way back from there.

"Sonic! There you are!"

Sonic turned and saw the singer from the club running across the square towards him. She ran up to him and took him by the arms.

"I talked to my father. I told him that I'm old enough to make my own decisions. He wouldn't listen, but I just told him I wanted to perform, and there was nothing he could do about it." She embraced him. "Oh Sonic, I'll be a star, won't I? Just like you said."

Sonic took her by the arms and looked at her in the eyes.

"Listen… Roxy. I was wrong. I shouldn't have encouraged you to do that. It was wrong."

Roxy looked at him, puzzled. "But… but all those things you said before… about me going all the way…"

"Well, forget about all that. I was stupid. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you like that."

"But I wanted…"

"No." Sonic put a finger on her lips. "You see what happened to Amy? She chased after the same thing you are, and look at her."

"But she couldn't go all the way." Roxy released herself from Sonic, and stepped back looking confused and hurt. "You taught me that I have to do anything to get what I want. And I know what I want. You said that you would help me." Sonic could see tears forming in the young girl's eyes. "I gave up everything..."

"Listen… Pauline." Sonic stepped forward again. "I should not have done that. And now you can get that stuff back before it's too late. If you keep going with this life you'll regret it." He took her hand. "I'm so sorry."

Pauline smiled and embraced Sonic again. "I forgive you." She whispered.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Sonic looked over Pauline's shoulder to see Tails. He was standing there, smoking a cigarette, and dressed in a torn and grimy lab coat. He had a sunken look about him, and his voice was husky and parched.

"Tails," Sonic unlocked himself from Pauline and too a step towards him. A smell of alcohol mixed with cigarette smoke hit him like a rock. Whatever this Tails was, Sonic didn't like him.

Tails himself was eyeing Pauline up and down. "Is this what you wanted me for?" He smiled. "I must have had a satisfied customer." He took a step towards her, but she stepped back, looking uncomfortably at Sonic.

"Who is this?"

"This is Tails." Sonic hurriedly stepped between them. "Listen, Tails… I need your help. Have you ever heard of quantum realities?"

Tails frowned. "Don't know what you're talking about. But first things first," He stepped past Sonic and grabbed hold of Pauline (His forehead barely touching her chin) and kissed her forcefully. Sonic immediately grabbed him and pushed him away.

"Leave her alone." He growled. He was feeling suddenly protective of the young girl.

"All right!" Tails brushed himself off calmly. "Off-limits. I get it. Now, quantum whatsamajiglet?"


End file.
